The Bears have still never had a 4,000-yard passer. But they’re getting closer.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams ended the 2025 season with 3,942 passing yards, a new franchise record.
The old Bears record was set by Erik Kramer, who threw for 3,838 yards in 1995.
Every other NFL franchise has had a 4,000-yard passer, and most teams have had several. There have been 239 individual 4,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history. Eventually, the Bears are sure to reach the 4,000-yard mark. And then Bears fans can stop hearing about an accomplishment their team has never achieved.
The Bears offense put up 440 yards and 38 points before falling short in a Week 17 loss to the 49ers, but the unit couldn’t find the same groove against the Lions in Week 18.
They were held scoreless while gaining 107 yards and six first downs through most of the first three quarters of the game. That left them behind 16-0 when they finally did some good things on that side of the ball. Two touchdowns and two two-point conversions made it a tie game, but the Bears couldn’t do anything after a late interception by safety Kevin Byard and they wound up losing 19-16 as a result.
Chicago is still the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, but the result left head coach Ben Johnson feeling down about where the unit is as they head into the postseason.
“I was not pleased with the offense today. . . . We can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that,” Johnson said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. “I was disappointed with the offense as a whole. I let those guys know that. And we’ll be better for it.”
The Bears’ defense didn’t do much to distinguish itself in either of the losses and they’ll need to be sharper on that side of the ball against the Packers in the wild card round, but Johnson is in Chicago because of his skill as an offensive coach and it seems clear that he sees that unit as the one that will have to carry the Bears if they want to stick around the playoffs for a while.
Home-field advantage might not mean much in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Of the six games in the wild card round, the road teams are favored in four.
The biggest favorites are the Rams, who are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Panthers in Carolina. But that might be just fine with the Panthers: The Rams were previously 10-point favorites at Carolina in the regular season, but the Panthers won 31-28.
The Packers are 1.5-point favorites on the road in Chicago. It will be the third meeting of the two teams in the last six weeks after they played twice in December. The Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime in Chicago in the regular season, while the Packers beat the Bears 28-21 in Green Bay.
The Bills are 1.5-point favorites against the Jaguars at Jacksonville. The Jaguars lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites at home against the 49ers. The Eagles lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Patriots are 3.5-point favorites at home against the Chargers. The Patriots went 14-3 this season, but all three losses were at home.
The Texans are 3-point favorites on the road against the Steelers. The Steelers lost at home three times in the regular season.
If the betting lines are to be believed, only two division winners, the No. 2 seed Eagles and Patriots, will advance to the divisional round.
The NFL has announced the wild-card weekend schedule for Jan. 10-12:
Saturday, Jan. 10
4:30 p.m. 5 Los Angeles Rams at 4 Carolina Panthers (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Chicago Bears (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 11
1 p.m. 6 Buffalo Bills at 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, Paramount+)
4:30 p.m. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 New England Patriots (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore/Pittsburgh (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
The Bears entered today’s game needing only to win to become the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Lions entered today’s game having already been mathematically eliminated. But the Lions played like they had pride to play for, and pulled off an upset.
Detroit won 19-16 on a 42-yard field goal from Jake Bates as time expired.
The Lions finish the season in last place in the NFC North, but with a respectable 9-8 record. The Bears finish 11-6 and will have to hope the Eagles lose to the Commanders, which would deliver Chicago the No. 2 seed.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff had a big game, completing 27 of 42 passes for 331 yards, and Amon-Ra St. Brown was his favorite receiver, with 11 catches for 139 yards. The Lions jumped out to a 16-0 lead and it looked like they would dominate.
But the Bears, as they so often have this season, came roaring back, with Caleb Williams throwing two touchdown passes and two two-point conversions to tie the score 16-16.
In the end, however, the Lions were able to drive into field goal range in the closing moments of the fourth quarter, and kick that game winner. The Lions are a last-place team, but they end the season with something that gives them confidence going into the offseason. And the Bears need to shake off a disappointing loss as they head toward the playoffs.
